Development

Plan For 20 Condos at Washington and Green Deeply Divides Neighbors

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At the most recent public meeting on a development for 3371 Washington St. and 197 Green St., the air was thick with frustration from both those opposed and those in favor — although it appeared the opponents were in the majority. Owner Walter Craven wants to build two long, four-story, brick-faced multi-family condos on an L shaped lot. The space is currently a hodgepodge of a parking lot, light industry and a woodframe house built before the Civil War. Union Avenue neighbors want Craven to build two three-story condominium buildings that are much shorter and set farther away from three houselots on that street.

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Development

‘Ain’t No One Can Afford This’ — Video Project Debuts at Lantern Parade

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Santo Anibal Ramirez, owner of Anibal Color Studio, talking about closing his business due to the rise in rent. Credit: "Ain't No One Can Afford This"
People pour their sweat and souls into things they believe are worth their time. Helen "Homefries" Matthews, a Jamaica Plain resident of 13 years, dedicates her time to "Ain't No One Can Afford This," a public video project that will share the stories of JP residents and business owners who have been or are being priced out. I sat with Homefries for about two hours in Café Bartlett Square. As she spoke about her community and its residents, I saw the fervor in her eyes with which she is diving into this video project full-fledged.

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Jon Ufland, principal and managing broker at Unlimited Sotheby's International Realty, pauses for a photo at the company's 673 Centre St. office on Sept. 24, 2014.
Business

Prudential Realty Morphs Into Unlimited Sotheby’s International Realty

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You may have noticed a big change to the building at the heart of the Centre/South district: Prudential Unlimited Realty is now Unlimited Sotheby's International Realty. The change became official Oct. 1. A new affiliation has been in the works since Prudential sold off its real estate arm more than three years ago. As those agreements expired, real estate companies had to shop for new affiliations.

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Southwest view of proposed five-story apartment building for the corner of Ukraine Way and Hyde Park Avenue.
Development

Builders: Retail Anchors Aren’t Biting for ‘Parcel U’

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A corner property right across from the Forest Hills T might seem likely to attract anchor tenants like CVS or Walgreens. But the developers behind Forest Hill's "Parcel U" say companies like that want visible parking. So they're hoping to attract a local anchor business for the project's 2,000 square feet of retail. While neighbors worry about the influx of people and cars cascading into Forest Hills, the calculus is different for businesses. Right now, only about 7,000 people live in Forest Hills, said James Madden, project manager for The Community Builders Inc., which is partnering with Urbanica Inc. to develop "Parcel U," a skinny tract between Hyde Park Avenue and the train tracks stretching from Ukraine Way down to the Toll Gate Cemetery.

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A view of the proposed 3521-3529 Washington St. project looking north along Washington (to the left) and east along McBride.
Development

Neighbors Praise Big McBride Street Project, Push For More Affordable Units

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A project for 132 residential units with retail and a four-story self storage facility at Washington and McBride took a step forward Monday. Neighbors have pushed for and gotten key changes to the design. The development at the former Flanagan & Seaton Motor Car Co. has been in the works since 2010, when it looked quite different from the proposal floated Monday to neighbors during a meeting at English High School. Instead of parking out front along Washington, the project now hides the parking in and under a central lot.

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Dozens of protesters gathered at the Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014 meeting of the zoning committee of the JP Neighborhood Council at Farnsworth House.
Business

Neighborhood Group Rejects City Realty Project in Forest Hills

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After hearing horror stories from City Realty tenants, a JP advisory board unanimously denied approval to a project the company aims to build at 38-42 Hyde Park Ave. The Brighton-based real estate company would like to tear down a former martial arts studio and put a three-story mixed-use building in its place. Negotiations with Forest Hills neighbors had made progress, according to the Gazette. But that was before City Realty began facing significant push-back on two separate properties across the neighborhood in Egleston Square. There, the owners of seven local businesses have been given eviction notices.

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